I am Kostya Dyachkov, a multidisciplinary media artist living and working in Perm (Ural, Russia). For the Eco-Art 2025 project, I am creating a sound art project that highlights the issue of night-time street lighting in the Balatovo Culture and Recreation Park in Perm.

Balatovo is a forest area located in the west of Perm. Historically, it connected several villages along the Kazan Highway. Today, Balatovo Park not only protects a significant part of the city from emissions from the Osentsovsky industrial hub, but is also a favourite recreation spot for residents of three districts of the city. It is also a natural forest within the urban landscape, with its own flora and fauna.

Curiously, its official name is Chernyavsky Forest. However, city residents are more familiar with its historical name, Balatovsky Park, which was given to it back in Soviet times. This name historically links the forest with the village of Balatovo, on the site of which the city’s Industrial District was formed.

In terms of its nature, Balatovsky Park is home to local birds, including woodpeckers, titmice, owls and others. It also serves as a temporary refuge for migratory birds, including ducks and cranes. Ornithologists have identified more than 110 species of birds that are permanently or periodically can be found in the city park.

Environmental scientists are concerned about the condition of the land, trees, rare and endangered plants growing in the park. But attention to birds, in my opinion, remains low.

In 2021, a large-scale renovation began in the park. Old Soviet and post-Soviet attractions were removed, and questionable cafes were demolished. At the same time, work began on improving the urban forest. Scientists and activists are still arguing about what has been done in the city park: areas for children’s games have appeared, paths for pedestrians and cyclists have been laid with asphalt crumbs, and night lighting has been installed in the alleys.

The last point of this ‘improvement’ became a problem area for the project.